dress code woes

Yesterday William came to school in a thin cotton t-shirt, which is pushing the dress code limits, which consists of a white shirt (button-up or polo), and navy pants. He also has a tendency to chew on his shirts, and as his teeth are broken and chipped, they’re really sharp. While some of his other shirts can withstand the treatment, this flimsy little t-shirt couldn’t handle the pressure. After the first 20 minutes or so of class, the whole front of his shirt was soaked and drooping. Ms. Stewart tried to call William’s mom to get more appropriate clothing, but no one answered the phone (surprise, surprise). After soaking his shirt, William began to gnaw on the bottom of his shirt. He would bite a hole in the shirt and then play with the hole. By lunch time he had ripped the bottom three inches off his shirt off with the exception of about a 1/2 inch of fabric in the very back that held it on like a tail - which he used to whip the other kids with. I finally ripped off the last 1/2 inch of fabric and threw away the bottom part of his shirt just before lunch. William sported a midriff shirt until 15 minutes before the buses arrived, when his mother sent up a more appropriate shirt for him. Luckily I didn’t get in trouble for William so blatantly disregarding the dress code. I doubt that M.H. Elementary School has seen this fashion statement very often – and thank goodness!